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The Holy Qur’ān itself testifies that it was not revealed in a single instance, but rather in a piecemeal fashion (25:32):

And those who disbelieve say: “Why is not the Quran revealed to him all at once?” Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages

Parts of the Holy Qur’ān were revealed considering the circumstances of its addressees. Therefore, when some of the directives were relaxed in some aspect Continue reading →

Muslims unanimously hold that the Holy Qur’ān is the word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (sws). This, however, does not mean that all that has been discussed in the Book has been addressed by God alone. Continue reading →

Division of the Qur’ān in rukū‘ as well as in 30 distinct parts is a post-Prophetic innovation. A little deliberation shows that the basic purpose of the rukū‘ division is to mark a thematic shift. Those who marked the rukū‘s have indeed intended to highlight the thematic shifts in the text and have tried to mark such thematic shifts by putting the sign ع. Continue reading →

Arrangement of a discourse creates specific meaning which is over and above the sum total of the whole. If we disregard the arrangement of the text we can never reach to the intended conclusions. Continue reading →

The Qur’ānic term ma‘rūf refers to what was welcomed as virtuous by the Arabs of the time of the Prophet (sws) and its opposite munkar signifies what they detested as evil. The Arabs of pre-Islamic age were not animals living in a jungle destitute of any sense of good and evil. Continue reading →